No 6 Group (Bomber Command) - Middleton St George Traditional Cache
Workyticket: As there appears to have been no response from the CO we are archiving this cache listing to prevent it from continually showing up in search lists and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements in the area. Once a cache is archived for non-responsiveness (including the cache page) it can't be unarchived.
Drew and Kaz
Workyticket
Volunteer UK Reviewers - Geocaching.com
No 6 Group (Bomber Command) - Middleton St George
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This is a series of caches based on Second World War airfields around North Yorkshire. They are all accessible by car and it is possible to do them all in one hit but it will involve a drive of some 160 miles.
They are all stand alone caches and can be done in any order. To complete the series you will need the co-ordinates of the final cache, Lest We Forget. These are contained one digit at a time, randomly, in the other caches.
During the Second World War No 6 Group (Royal Canadian Air Force) Bomber Command was based in North Yorkshire. Equipped with the Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster bomber aircraft, the Canadians remained at these bases until after the end of the war. The impact of the RCAF had a lasting effect on the local villages and many have erected memorials which are proudly displayed and carefully maintained. Nearly 25,000 Canadian servicemen and women were based here in North Yorkshire.
Five of the airfields are still operational, one as an international airport and the others, having been returned to the RAF, are used for military purposes. (You will not be required to enter any military premises). The remainder have been left derelict and have either returned to nature or are used for agricultural or light industry. Many reminders of the War, be it old buildings or pieces of runway, still remain to this day at all of them.
The most northerly of this series was actually in County Durham at the time of the war. Now known as “Durham Tees Valley International Airport”, RCAF Middleton St George lies 6 miles east of Darlington. It was opened on 15 January 1941 for the RAF squadrons equipped with the Whitley and Halifax bomber aircraft.
Two unconnected acts of heroism were carried out by crew members from Middleton St George. The Group’s only Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously to F/Sgt Andrew Mynarski. On the night of 12 June 1944, he was a Lancaster gunner on a raid over France when the aircraft was attacked by a Luftwaffe fighter. It caught fire and the order was given to bale out. Mynarski tried to release the trapped tail gunner as the aircraft spun towards the ground. He was unable to do so and was waved off by the trapped gunner. Not before saluting the brave doomed man did Mynarski bale out, but his own parachute and clothing were so badly burned there was no chance of him surviving. Ironically, the tail-gunner was thrown clear when the aircraft crashed, and although seriously injured, he survived and was taken prisoner.
The second incident took place on 13 January 1945 when P/O Bill McMullen was flying a Lancaster on a training flight. The aircraft developed problems and an engine caught fire. With the exception of McMullen, the crew baled out and parachuted to safety. The aircraft was seen to avoid the built up area of Darlington and was found with McMullen, who died instantly, still at the controls with his parachute intact. Not a single civilian was killed or injured. Due to McMullen’s unselfish actions, the people of Darlington renamed Lingfield Lane, close to where the Lancaster had crashed, McMullen Road. P/O McMullen features in the final cache too, Sec E, Row H, No 5.
The cache container is an unusual one and you will need something to remove an end!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Yhpl Ybpxre!
Treasures
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